Disclosed herein is a method for lifting an elevator plate of a media tray in an image production device, as well as corresponding apparatus and computer-readable medium.
Typical low speed, low cost image production devices use a semi-active retard (SAR) type feeders to feed media in their low capacity (500 sheet) media feed trays. This type of feeder uses a nudger roll to push the top sheet into the take away roll (TAR). The two basic designs for lifting an elevator plate in a media feed tray in this market segment are: 1) where the leading edge of the elevator plate is rotated up toward the feeder rollers with pivots at the trailing edge (lower cost); and 2) the entire elevator plate is lifted vertically.
However, with a rotating angled elevator plate, a problem occurs with the leading edge of the elevator plate when heavy weight media is used where the inherent stiffness of the media causes stubbing at the feeder roller entrance at the high angle (e.g., the media tray is almost empty). This problem can be further magnified if the media has up-curl. For example, with a vertically lifted elevator plate, a stronger motor is required to lift the weight of the entire media stack instead of just a portion of the stack. The stronger motor adds to higher costs, size and design issues of the image production device.